Examining ships that have made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History.

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Hello out there! The purpose of this blog is to spread the word that Naval History is interesting and worth knowing. After searching the net, I couldn't find a single place that dealt solely with the subject of Naval Warfare, so I decided to create one. I will be posting pictures and text of various ships and will then describe what part those ships played in Naval Warfare and Naval History. For anyone interested in these subjects, I hope this will be your new home. Every Tuesday a new ship will be posted and each month I'll have a "Ship of the Month" displayed at the bottom of the blog. Both famous and not-so-famous ships will be highlighted. But what they all have in common is that, in some small way, they made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History. I think it's a historical lesson worth reading. I also hope you like what you see and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for dropping by.

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This blog was created by Remo. I have been forced to close my "Comments" section due to the enormous amount of spam that is being sent to it. I just can't keep up with it anymore, so I decided to end the comments. People who flood blogs with spam are jerks and should be ashamed of themselves. Anyway, if you want to contact me, e-mail me at Libertyship46@aol.com. On balance, I get less spam via my e-mail account than in the "Comments" section of the blog. So if you want to make a comment, send me an e-mail. Other readers on the blog will not be able to see it, but at least I'll have some contact with the outside world! Thank you.

Figure 3: Four F8F "Bearcat" fighters fly past USS Valley Forge (CV-45), 28 April 1948. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6: View of the USS Valley Forge’s (CV-45) island, with members of the American Ordnance Association visiting on board, while the ship was operating near Long Beach, California, 27 April 1949. An F8F-2 "Bearcat" fighter is parked alongside the island. Note large SX radar antenna atop the tripod mast and many onlookers standing on the island walkways. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) rounds Diamond Head, Oahu, while en route from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to San Diego, California, on 17 May 1949. She was transporting the headquarters of Rear Admiral H.B. Sallada, Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet, from Pearl Harbor to San Diego, and carried a deck load of flying boats and land-based planes. Aircraft types visible on her flight deck include one PBM, six PBY and 2 F4U parked aft. Those visible amidships include one R4D, one P2V, seven JRB/SNB and seven SNJ. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8: Grumman F9F-3 "Panther" of Fighter Squadron 52 (VF-52) taxies forward on USS Valley Forge (CV-45) to be catapulted for strikes on targets along the east coast of Korea, 19 July 1950. Note details of the ship's island, including scoreboard at left. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) flight deck crewmen wheel carts of rockets past a Vought F4U-4B fighter, while arming planes for strikes against North Korean targets in July 1950. This plane is Bureau # 97503. Official US Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) flight deck tractors tow Grumman F9F "Panther" fighters forward on the carrier's flight deck in preparation for catapulting them off to attack North Korean targets, July 1950. This photograph was released for publication on 21 July 1950. Valley Forge had launched air strikes on 3-4 July and 18-19 July. Official US Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 11: Wonsan Oil Refinery, Wonsan, North Korea, under attack by aircraft from Valley Forge (CV-45) on 18 July 1950. Smoke from this attack, which reportedly destroyed some 12,000 tons of refined petroleum products and much of the plant, could be seen sixty miles out at sea. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 12: Wonsan Oil Refinery, Wonsan, North Korea, burning after being struck by USS Valley Forge (CV-45) aircraft on 18 July 1950. Photograph may have been taken on 19 July, when smoke from these fires was visible from the carrier, operating at sea off the Korean east coast. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 13: Korean War Carrier Air Strikes, July 1950. A fuel or ammunition train burns near Kumchon, North Korea, after being hit by planes from USS Valley Forge (CV-45). Photographed on the morning of 22 July 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, from the "All Hands" collection at the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 14: Douglas AD "Skyraider" attack planes from USS Valley Forge (CV-45), fire 5-inch rockets at a North Korean field position. Photo is dated 24 October 1950. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 15: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) leaves San Diego, California, 6 December 1950, to return to the Korean War zone for her second tour of combat duty, following a quick replenishment visit to the US west coast. Acoma (YTB-701) is assisting, from off the carrier's port quarter. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 16: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) crewmen use flight deck tractors with power brooms to sweep snow from the carrier's flight deck, during operations off Korea, circa early 1951. Photo is dated 8 May 1951, but Valley Forge ended her second Korean War deployment in late March of that year. Plane parked in the foreground is a F4U-4 "Corsair" fighter. Those on the forward flight deck are an AD "Skyraider" attack plane and a HO3S helicopter. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 17: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) crewmen participate in a snowball fight, while clearing snow from the carrier's flight deck during operations off Korea, circa early 1951. Photo is dated 8 May 1951, but Valley Forge ended her second Korean War deployment in late March of that year. Planes parked on deck are F4U-4 "Corsair" fighters. That at left, with rockets on its wing, is Bureau # 81150. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 18: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) taking water over the bow and onto her flight deck while operating in heavy seas off Korea, 21 March 1952. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 19: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) ordnancemen perform maintenance on 20mm aircraft cannon on the carrier's flight deck, during operations off Korea, 30 March 1952. The ship's forward 5-inch twin gun mounts are at right. Aircraft parked in the immediate background is a Douglas AD "Skyraider" (possibly AD-2 Bureau # 122251). Note firefighting hose in the lower right. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 20: The first of a flight of eight Bell HTL-3 helicopters rise from USS Valley Forge’s (CV-45) flight deck, off the Japanese coast, circa early January 1953. Valley Forge transported these aircraft to the Far East for use in evacuating Korean War battle casualties. The original photo is dated 3 January 1953. Its caption stated that this "was the largest mass take-off of helicopters in the history of Naval aviation." Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 21: Commander C.V. Johnson taxies forward after making USS Valley Forge’s (CVA-45) 50,000th landing during operations off Korea on 10 May 1953. His plane is a Douglas AD "Skyraider". Another AD is flying in the upper right. Note the ship's arresting gear wires, after elevator and flight deck crewmen. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 22: USS Valley Forge (CV-45) photographed circa 1951-52, following her first Korean War era overhaul. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 23: USS Valley Forge (CVS-45) in harbor, 20 January 1956, with crewmen paraded on her flight deck spelling out the ship's nickname: "HAPPY VALLEY." Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 24: USS Valley Forge (CVS-45) operating at sea with a deck load of anti-submarine aircraft, 20 March 1956. Several S2F and at least one AD are parked amidships and aft. A HUP helicopter is parked amidships, and a HSS-1 ASW helicopter is parked at the bow. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 25: USS Valley Forge (CVS-45) operating at sea on 27 August 1958, with a HS-7 HSS-1 anti-submarine helicopter about to land forward. S2Fs of VS-36 are parked on her flight deck. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 26: Damage to the USS Valley Forge’s (CVS-45) port forward flight deck, caused by heavy seas in the Atlantic. Photograph was taken 8 January 1959. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 27: Forward port portion of the flight deck of USS Franklin (CVS-13) is hoisted into place on the Valley Forge, replacing part of the latter's flight deck after it had been wrecked by heavy Atlantic Ocean seas. Photograph was taken 24 January 1959. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 28: USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) underway in the Pacific Ocean, circa 1962-63, prior to her "FRAM II" overhaul. She has fifteen UH-34 helicopters spotted in take-off positions on her flight deck. Photo was received by "All Hands" magazine on 22 July 1963. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 29: US Marines double-time across USS Valley Forge’s (LPH-8) flight deck on their way to board HUS-1 helicopters during Exercise "Pot Shot,” circa 1961-62. Photograph was received 6 March 1963. Note air crewman standing by the helicopter at right. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 30: USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) transporting A-4 "Skyhawk" attack planes in addition to her usual complement of UH-34 helicopters, circa 1965. She also has cargo and vehicles stowed on her flight deck, near the island. Photo was received by "All Hands" magazine on 19 April 1965. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 31: USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) with Marine Corps CH-46 helicopters embarked, probably during operations off South Vietnam, circa 1968. USS Thomaston (LSD-28) is in the background, at right. Photo was received by "All Hands" magazine on 30 July 1968. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a small town in Pennsylvania made famous during the American Revolutionary War, USS Valley Forge (CV-45) was a 36,380-ton Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier that was built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned on 3 November 1946. The ship was approximately 888 feet long and 93 feet wide, had a top speed of 32.7 knots, and had a crew of 3,448 officers and men. Valley Forge was armed with 12 5-inch guns and 72 40-mm guns, and could carry 80 aircraft.

After completing her shakedown cruise off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in the Panama Canal Zone, Valley Forge was transferred to the US Pacific Fleet in 1947. In 1948, she completed a trip to Australia and the Far East and steamed completely around the world before returning to San Diego, California. In May 1950, Valley Forge was again sent to the Far East and was anchored in Hong Kong Harbor on 25 June when she received news that North Korea had invaded South Korea. She left Hong Kong the next day and steamed north to Subic Bay, the Philippines, to obtain provisions and fuel. From there, Valley Forge left for Korea. Valley Forge was the only American carrier in the region when the Korean War broke out.

The first carrier air strike of the Korean conflict was launched from the Valley Forge’s flight deck on 3 July 1950. Waves of communist North Korean troops were pouring over the 38th Parallel and into South Korea, overwhelming the lightly armed and disorganized South Korean and American troops. Valley Forge launched Douglas AD “Skyraider” and Vought F4U “Corsair” ground attack planes to slow down the communist advance and also launched Grumman F9F “Panther” jet fighters to prowl the skies for enemy fighters. The Skyraiders and the Corsairs attacked the North Korean airfield at Pyongyang in North Korea, bombing enemy airplane hangars, fuel storage facilities, and Russian-built aircraft that were parked on the ground. At the same time, the Panther jet fighters shot down two North Korean Yak-9 aircraft.

Despite additional carrier-based and land-based aircraft that were sent from the United States and other United Nations countries to join this struggle, American and South Korean forces were steadily forced southward until they were virtually surrounded at Pusan (known as the famous “Pusan Perimeter”). But on 18 September 1950, General Douglas MacArthur launched the brilliant amphibious landing at Inchon. The American landing at Inchon outflanked the communists while the other United Nations forces broke out from the Pusan Perimeter and headed north. During all of this, Valley Forge’s aircraft were making daily attacks against North Korean forces. Aircraft from Valley Forge attacked enemy troop concentrations, defensive positions, and supply lines. More than 5,000 combat sorties were flown and more than 2,000 tons of bombs and rockets were dropped between 3 July and 19 November 1950.

Valley Forge returned to San Diego and arrived there on 1 December 1950. She needed an overhaul, but as soon as the ship arrived it was immediately ordered back to Korea. Communist China had decided to enter the war and Chinese troops were flooding into North Korea. On 6 December, as soon as a new air group and fresh provisions could be put on board the ship, Valley Forge left San Diego. She reached Task Force 77 off Korea on 22 December and her planes began flying air strikes against the Chinese the next day. It was the beginning of three straight months of concentrated air operations against a human tidal wave of Chinese troops. During this second deployment to Korea, Valley Forge flew 2,580 sorties and dropped more than 1,500 tons of bombs on the enemy.

But, by the end of January 1951, the Chinese advance ground to a halt. United Nations forces had succeeded in pushing the communists back north to the 38th Parallel, while suffering heavy casualties. Valley Forge continued flying missions off the ice cold and snowy coast of Korea, its planes assisting in a major effort to stop the Chinese from advancing any further. On 29 March 1951, Valley Forge was finally allowed to return to the United States for its badly needed overhaul. The ship returned to San Diego and her overhaul lasted until the fall. Valley Forge was then ordered to return to Korea, becoming the first American carrier to be sent back there for a third deployment.

On 11 December 1951, Valley Forge launched her first air strikes against communist railway targets. Railway lines, junctions, marshalling yards and rolling stock were decimated by the carrier’s aircraft. By June 1952, Valley Forge’s aircraft had severed communist rail lines in at least 5,346 places. Valley Forge returned to the United States in the summer of 1952, but was sent back to the Far East later that year. In October 1952, the ship was re-classified an attack carrier and was re-designated CVA-45. By 2 January 1953, Valley Forge’s aircraft began bombing communist targets deep behind enemy lines, focusing on supply dumps, troop concentrations, and deadly gun emplacements. During this deployment, Valley Forge’s aircraft dropped approximately 3,700 tons of bombs and rockets on Chinese and North Korean targets. She was sent back to the United States and arrived at San Diego on 25 June 1953.

After returning to the United States, Valley Forge underwent another major overhaul. Because her flight deck remained basically unchanged since the end of World War II, Valley Forge was unable to handle the much larger high-performance jets that were being introduced to the fleet after the end of the Korean War. So the ship was converted into an antisubmarine support carrier and re-designated CVS-45. Once the conversion was completed at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Norfolk, Virginia, the ship carried only helicopters and propeller-driven aircraft. After the conversion was completed in January 1954, Valley Forge was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and remained there for seven years.

In early January 1959, while steaming in the stormy North Atlantic in winter, Valley Forge was smashed by heavy seas which tore away a large section of the port side of its forward flight deck. This damage proved how vulnerable the “open bow” design was for aircraft carriers built during World War II. This problem was solved by installing new enclosed “hurricane bows” on all carriers built during the mid-1950s and later. Valley Forge’s damage was quickly repaired, using a large section of flight deck that was taken from the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Franklin (CVS-13).

On 6 March 1961, Valley Forge entered the Norfolk shipyard for yet another major overhaul. This time the ship was converted into an amphibious assault ship and was re-designated LPH-8. The conversion was completed on 1 July and the ship carried only helicopters and Marines for amphibious assault missions. Valley Forge spent the rest of her career in the Pacific, making five more deployments to the Far East. The last three of these, from 1965 to 1969, were mostly spent on combat operations off the coast of Vietnam. A typical mission for Valley Forge occurred on 29 January 1966, when an assault was made by Marines off the carrier during Operation Double Eagle. Valley Forge remained off the coast of Vietnam while its Marines were transported by helicopter to assault communist forces on land. Valley Forge provided continuous logistical and medical support to the Marines. Inbound helicopters usually brought supplies to the troops, while choppers returning from the coast brought back casualties for medical treatment. Similar operations that Valley Forge participated in were Operations Fortress Ridge, Beaver Tooth, Badger Catch, Badger Catch II, Badger Catch III, Swift Saber, and Brave Armada, to name just a few of the helicopter assault and logistical supply missions she successfully completed. Valley Forge also occasionally served as a transport for aircraft being brought to South Vietnam.

Valley Forge returned to the United States and docked at Long Beach, California, on 31 October 1969. After being stripped of all her planes, ammunition, and usable equipment, the ship was decommissioned on 15 January 1970. After failing to obtain funds to convert this ship into a naval museum, USS Valley Forge was sold for scrapping on 29 October 1971, a sad end to a brilliant career. This grand warship received eight battle stars for her service during the Korean War, nine battle stars for her work during the war in Vietnam, and three US Navy Unit Commendations.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Figure 1: A stamp printed in Italy circa 1980 shows the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) corvette Gabbiano (C11) as part of a series of stamps devoted to ships. Gabbiano was the namesake of a 59-ship class of corvettes built in Italy during World War II for the Italian Navy. Even though the entire class was named after Gabbiano, few (if any) photographs exist of the actual warship. Fortunately, there are a number of photographs of her sister ships which served during World War II. All of the ships in this class were basically armed the same way and all of them looked the same. Photograph courtesy BrandonHot / Shutterstock.com. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2: Extremely rare color photograph of Driade (C43), sister ship to Gabbiano. Driade was commissioned in January 1943, survived the war, and remained in the Italian Navy until decommissioned in 1966. Italian Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3: Launching of Procellaria (C12) at the Cerusa Shipyard in Voltri, Italy, on 4 September 1942. Procellaria was a sister ship to Gabbiano and was built at the same shipyard at roughly the same time. Procellaria was commissioned on 29 November 1942 but was sunk by mines off the west coast of Sicily on 31 January 1943. Italian Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 4: The fully commissioned Procellaria (C12) just before she was sunk on 31 January 1943. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 5: Sfinge (C47), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in May 1943, survived the war, and remained in the Italian Navy until decommissioned in 1976. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: Chimera (C48), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in May 1943, survived the war, and remained in the Italian Navy until decommissioned in 1977. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8: Danaide (C44), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in February 1943, survived the war, and remained in the Italian Navy until decommissioned in 1969. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9: Euterpe (C41), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in January 1943 but was scuttled towards the end of the war in Genoa in April 1945. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10: Good stern view of Fenice (C50), another sister ship to Gabbiano. The ship was commissioned in June 1943, survived the war, and was decommissioned in 1965. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 11: Flora (C46), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in April 1943, survived the war, and was decommissioned in 1970. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 12: Gazella (C20), another sister ship to Gabbiano, was commissioned in February 1943 but was sunk by mines north of Sardinia on 5 August 1943. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 13: A stern view of Urania (C65), another sister ship to Gabbiano. The ship was commissioned in June 1943, survived the war, and was decommissioned in 1972. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 14: The shattered hulk of Tersicore (C69), another sister ship to Gabbiano. The ship was never completed and was captured by the German Army in September 1943. The ship was sunk by Allied aircraft on 20 April 1944 in the northern Italian port of Monfalcone in the Gulf of Trieste. Italian Navy photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

The 728-ton Gabbiano (which means “seagull” in Italian) was the namesake and lead ship of a class of 59 corvettes built for the Regia Marina (the Royal Italian Navy) during World War II. Gabbiano was built by the Cerusa Shipyard at Voltri, Italy, and was commissioned on 3 October 1942. The ship was approximately 211 feet long and 28 feet wide, had a top speed of 18 knots, and had a crew of 110 officers and men. Gabbiano was armed with one 3.9-inch gun, seven 20-mm guns, two 18-inch torpedo tubes, 10 depth-charge throwers and two depth-charge racks. Although Gabbiano did not have radar, it did possess sonar.

By 1941, Axis convoys in the Mediterranean were suffering severe losses to British submarines. The Italian Navy needed to counter this deadly menace, so it designed the Gabbiano class corvettes to escort merchant and troop convoys steaming between Italy and North Africa. Gabbiano featured some innovative and highly effective characteristics for a ship her size. Unlike the British convoy escorts that had to deal with the terrible North Atlantic weather, Italian escorts faced much milder weather in the Mediterranean. As a result, Gabbiano could be longer and narrower than her British counterparts of the Flower class, making them faster. Gabbiano also had a longer forecastle and a higher freeboard that the British corvettes lacked, keeping them drier in heavy seas. Gabbiano had excellent range (she could steam 3,000 nautical miles at 15 knots) and was a tough ship, with her hull made of high-strength steel and her upper structure made of light aluminum alloys. The Gabbiano class’ simple design allowed the ships to be built quickly and in several different shipyards.

But what made Gabbiano and her sisters unique were their engines. Her main engines were diesels that used a light diesel fuel and not fuel oil found in conventional steam engines. Therefore, her engines didn’t need water which allowed them to be started right away. Gabbiano could start her main engines in 10 minutes because of this feature. Gabbiano also possessed an additional electric motor that had an endurance of 16 nautical miles at 6 knots for silent running while searching for submarines. This electric motor allowed the ship to “creep” quietly along the surface while hunting for a submarine. This not only made it more difficult for the enemy submarine’s sonar to locate Gabbiano, but it also reduced Gabbiano’s engine noise which interfered with its own sonar.

As soon as Gabbiano was commissioned in October 1942, she was assigned to convoy escort duty. Gabbiano escorted numerous convoys that brought urgently needed troops and supplies from Italy to Tunisia. On the return trips, those same convoys brought thousands of wounded troops from Tunisia back to Italy. These convoys were repeatedly attacked by Allied aircraft and British submarines, which exacted a heavy toll on the merchant ships within the convoys.

But Gabbiano did its best to fight back against the Allied attacks. While escorting a convoy on 16 April 1943, Gabbiano attacked and probably sank the British submarine HMS Regent. Some reports state that Regent was chased from the area and was actually sunk by a mine, but other reports have the submarine sunk by Gabbiano. Either way, Gabbiano assisted in the sinking of Regent. On 24 April, Gabbiano attacked another British submarine, HMS Sahib, near the Lipari Islands off the coast of Italy. The submarine was so damaged by the attack that it was eventually forced to surface and was later sunk by German aircraft.

Although 59 Gabbiano class corvettes were ordered by Italy during the war, only 28 ships entered service before Italy surrendered in September 1943. Several were sunk before the armistice in 1943, but 19 ships survived and were used by Italy after the war ended for that country. Ironically, a few ships were even captured and used by the Germans who were still fighting in northern Italy after the armistice was signed. Gabbiano was one of the ships that remained in Italian possession and she formed the nucleus of the new Italian Navy after the war ended in Europe in May, 1945.

Gabbiano proved to be a tough and durable warship. After the war she was used as a training ship, for search-and-rescue duties, for hydrographic assignments, and for general patrol duties. Gabbiano was decommissioned in 1972, 30 years after she was commissioned. The surviving members of the Gabbiano class proved equally as durable, with the last ships being retired towards the end of the 1970s.

Gabbiano and her sisters proved to be some of the best convoy escorts of World War II. Many of them even had successful careers in the post-war Italian Navy. Unfortunately for the Italians, they could not be built in large enough numbers to have much of an effect on the war in the Mediterranean.

Author’s Note: Information on the Gabbiano class was collected from several sources. Many of these sources contradict each other, so decisions had to be made on selecting the best sources that gave the most accurate information regarding Gabbiano and her sister ships. For further reading regarding these warships, some recommended sources are:

Regia Marina Italiana Corvette, by Salvatore Romano, which can be found here: http://www.regiamarina.net/detail_text_with_list.asp?nid=76&lid=1

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Figure 1: USS Coontz (DLG-9) underway off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, 24 November 1968. Photographed by PH3 Bruce M. Laurich. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2: USS Coontz (DLG-9) at sea off San Diego, California, 25 July 1967. Photographed by PH2 Erb. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 3: USS Coontz (DLG-9) crewmen at their stations on the ship's bridge during a naval gunfire support mission in the South China Sea. This photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Center in July 1969. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 4: USS Coontz (DLG-9). The Landing Signal Officer, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Ronald E. Braley, signals to the pilot of a Kaman UH-2 "Seasprite" helicopter, as crewmen tie it to the ship's landing deck, July 1969. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6: USS Coontz (now DDG-40) underway in the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Henry, Virginia, on 28 October 1975. Photographed by PHAN W.H. Flynn. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 7: USS Coontz (DDG-40) at sea, 11 October 1978. Official US Navy Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 8: USS Coontz (DDG-40) letterpress reproduction of a photograph showing the ship underway in the Atlantic off the Virginia coast, October 1986. Official US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after Admiral Robert E. Coontz (1864-1935), who was the second Chief of Naval Operations (1919-1923), USS Coontz (DLG-9) was a Farragut class guided missile frigate that was built at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington, and was commissioned on 15 July 1960. The ship was approximately 512 feet long and 52 feet wide, had a top speed of 33 knots, and had a crew of 377 officers and men. Coontz was armed with one 5-inch gun, one Terrier Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system, one ASROC Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) missile system, and six Mk. 46 ASW torpedo tubes. After a later modification, Coontz also carried two Mk. 141 Harpoon missile launchers and one helicopter.

After she was commissioned, Coontz joined the Pacific Fleet. In August of 1961, the ship began the first of seven deployments with the US Seventh Fleet in the Far East. This included active participation in the Vietnam conflict from 1964 to 1970. During her first tour of duty in Vietnam from 16 August 1964 to 6 February 1965, Coontz steamed 41,000 miles and was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for support of Vietnam War operations in the South China Sea. From December 1965 to January 1966, Coontz received a helicopter landing and handling capability while undergoing an overhaul at San Diego, California. This overhaul also included relocation of deck vents, clearing all fantail obstructions, installation of a JP-5 aviation fuel and purification system, and the addition of equipment that provided electrical power for the helicopter. Coontz was the first of her class to receive this conversion and a helicopter was an important addition to her already substantial armament.

Coontz’s second Vietnam tour lasted from January to August 1966 and during that deployment she visited Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan. In March 1966, Coontz was awarded the Unit Commendation Ribbon for her Western Pacific (WESTPAC) deployment. In September 1966, Coontz underwent another overhaul at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California, which lasted until March 1967. On 25 July 1967, Coontz left San Diego for WESTPAC once again. She returned to the US Seventh Fleet and was assigned search and rescue duties and escorted aircraft carriers. In August 1967, Coontz visited Djakarta, Indonesia, and this was the first visit of a US naval vessel to that country since early 1963. Coontz spent roughly two months on the Northern Search and Rescue Station in the Gulf of Tonkin and assisted in the rescue of nine pilots. After a brief visit to Hong Kong, Coontz returned to San Diego, arriving there on 8 February 1968.

Coontz left for her final deployment to Vietnam on 15 November 1968. She arrived on Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam a month later and spent Christmas performing her usual patrol and escort duties. Coontz also returned to the Gulf of Tonkin for additional search and rescue missions. The ship was ordered back to San Diego for yet another overhaul on 18 May 1969.

Coontz was decommissioned in 1971 for an extensive anti-air warfare modernization, but was re-commissioned in March 1972. Coontz spent the next 17 years with the US Atlantic Fleet, visiting ports in the Mediterranean, northern Europe, and Latin America. She was re-designated a guided missile destroyer in July 1975 and received a new hull number, DDG-40.

Coontz was assigned to the multi-national Standing Naval Forces Atlantic in 1976 and again from 1978 to 1979. In the early to mid-1980s, she patrolled the Black Sea. Coontz also participated in the American amphibious assault on the island of Grenada. For ten days Coontz provided gunfire support and small boat interdiction. For her part in Operation “Urgent Fury,” the name given to the invasion of Grenada, Coontz received the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

During the Iran-Iraq War, also known as “The Tanker War,” Coontz left for the Persian Gulf on 5 February 1987. She was assigned the task of ensuring safe passage for US vessels in the Persian Gulf as well as maintaining a robust US Navy presence in the area as the Iran-Iraq war escalated. During this deployment, Coontz provided firefighting and rescue teams to the severely damaged American frigate USS Stark, which was hit by two Iraqi Exocet missiles. Coontz returned to her new home port at Norfolk, Virginia, on 5 August 1987.

Following her return to the United States, Coontz was assigned to the US Second Fleet until 1989. The ship was decommissioned for the last time on 4 October 1989. USS Coontz was sold for scrapping in April 1994, but was repossessed in October 1996. The ship was sold again in February 1999, but scrapping was not completed until March 2003. It was a long, sad end to a fine ship.

Ship of the Month: USS Wandank

The 795-ton USS Wandank (AT-26) was an Algorma class fleet tug that was built by the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company at Buffalo, New York, and was commissioned on 23 March 1920. The ship was approximately 156 feet long and 30 feet wide, had a top speed of 13 knots, and had a crew of 25 officers and men. For roughly 20 years after being commissioned, Wandank worked along America’s east coast, primarily near her base at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1939, she assisted with the rescue and salvage efforts for the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), which had accidently sunk off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wandank then was based at Boston, Massachusetts, in October 1940 and remained there throughout World War II. Her designation was changed to ATO-26 in May of 1944. Wandank was decommissioned in September 1946 and in July 1947 was sold to a commercial firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, which operated her under the name of W.A. Bisso. The tug was scrapped in 1971 after being in service for 51 years. The photograph shows USS Wandank at Boston circa the later 1920s or early 1930s. USS Constitution is on the opposite side of the pier. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.